CC was instrumental in my college journey, so I’m here to give back!
I’m a current Rice student and recipient of two merit scholarships, the Trustee Distinguished Scholarship and Century Scholarship. I’m a humanities major- we definitely exist at Rice!
My application stats when compared to the accepted student pool: average test scores, above average extracurriculars (some state and national stuff but not Intel winner-level.)
I absolutely love Rice- the professors really care and provide a top-notch undergrad education, the atmosphere is very collaborative, the living standard (food, facilities, weather) is amazing, and the residential college system really gives you a family and great support system.
Did you participate in the work-study program? Will there be opportunity for merit based awards after the first year? No merit scholarship was awarded with the ED packet we just recieved
@l1447 Congrats on the acceptance! You still have the chance to get departmental scholarships and other merit-based awards later, but the merit scholarships would have been offered in the acceptance packet.
I work at Rice, but not in the work-study program. I personally haven’t heard of anyone experiencing issues with it.
@GoldOwls what is the biggest factor in merit scholarships? My test score is a 32 ACT, so I’m afraid a below 25% ACT would throw me out of the running completely.
@Jpgranier If your profile is good enough to be accepted, I don’t think any one thing would disqualify anyone from being a merit scholar. Basically, your admissions profile as a whole has to be even more superior than the average accepted student’s.
My son has a chance for an eagle scout scholarship to put toward college. He won’t know if he gets it until May. Can he use it toward work study instead of doing work study or does it have to go toward grant money received?
@fun1234 To my understanding, that’s not how work study works. The program is funded by the federal government and commences when you’re in college. If he gets the scholarship, it’d count as outside scholarships.
I have a few questions. My son wants to go to owl days. How easy is it to get someone to sponsor you for staying overnight. I am assuming it is over night in another students dorm. We want to buy his ticket, but it did say first come first serve. Have you heard of anyone not getting it if they sign up right away. I heard it comes out in April is that true? Also my son is interested in becoming a trip leader. Is it beneficial to do the wilderness first aid ahead of time before he comes? Would they count that training or just make him do it again down there in the fall because they want them to take their classes? Is there someone who is a trip leader currently and a way for my son to contact the person to learn more about the process?
@fun1234 You sign up for Owl Days, and Rice will match you with a host. I doubt that there will be problems matching your son if you’re able to sign up.
For specifics on becoming a trip leader, I’d recommend for your son to get in touch with the people listed on the Rice ROPE website.
My son applies Rice as a RD. He has Act 34, 4.0UW, 4.7W. And 11 ap classes. He played basketball 11 years. And no specific EC. What do you think about his chance to Rice and merit scholarship? His major is humanities. Also, is it easy to change the major?
I don’t “chance” people, publicly or through private message. Please refer to the accepted stats that the admissions office posts online.
@mochiko It’s very easy to change your major, even from a major in the school of humanities to a major in the sciences. It isn’t possible to switch into the music or architecture schools, however, unless you applied to those schools specifically.
The challenge lies in careful planning to get enough credits to graduate, once you’ve transferred majors.
My HS Jr daughter is considering applying to Rice next year. She has mentioned that she may want to study Chem Engineering or possibly just Chem. How does she decide whether to apply to the School of Engineering or the School of Natural Science? Do you know if one is easier to get accepted to as a women in STEM? I know that she can change her mind once she get there. Also, she loves writing so she could end up being a humanities major. Do you know which schools are the easiest to get into? Or, if it matters at all which school you apply to? Thank you.
Hi, I was wondering how Rice awards the Century Scholarship. On their website, it says it is awarded to “students who demonstrate an aptitude for research with a faculty mentor,” but how would they judge this? Do you have to have previous research experience? Also, if you are awarded a merit scholarship and you are eligible for need-based aid, do they cancel each other out? For example, if you are awarded a $25,000 trustee scholarship and you are eligible for $25,000 in need-based aid, will Rice give you $50,000 total, or do they not give as much need-based aid if you receive a merit scholarship?
@pcmom1 You should apply to the major/school you are most interested in at the time of application. I don’t work for admissions, so unfortunately I don’t know for sure what school is the easiest to get in.
@aspiringowl I had previous research experience and I’m guessing most of us did, but I know of at least one Century Scholar who didn’t. To be honest, none of us really know why the admissions office chose us, but my guess is that the Century, like the other Rice merit scholarships, basically functions as a recruiting tool for the applicants they really want.
They’ll give you the merit scholarship first and then add need-based on top. If they determine that you need 30k total in financial aid and you get the 25k Trustee, you’ll only be getting 5k in need-based.
How approachable are the professors when it comes to things like research and projects outside the class? and also what’s the social life like at rice? thanks
Is there somewhere that I can find a recent post graduation survey of how many people get jobs at various companies? I’m interested in Computer Science specifically. The best that I could find for Rice was one from 2007.
For example, you can find it for Penn by searching “Undergraduate Career Plans Survey Report” in google, and for Berkeley it is called “Career Destinations Survey”.
@danielb0370 Virtually all Rice profs are super approachable and very open to help outside of class, whether it’s during office hours or even after! I know of some profs who answer emails even in the early morning and stay on campus very late to help students study for exams or finish projects. They’re generally very open to students working in research, although you may have to prove yourself a little if you want to start doing research right away as a freshman.
Social life at Rice is great- you can be as social or as reserved as you want, there’s no pressure whatsoever and you’ll find people like you. The residential college system gives you an automatic, built-in family/friends group, which is really nice if you don’t make friends easily.
Compared to other universities, I’d say Rice is a bit more introverted than others places are, but we take “work hard, play hard” seriously- there are always plenty of loud parties if you like them. Just keep in mind that no matter what scene you prefer, everyone is really friendly and welcoming, and you’ll find your place here.
@BlueSnail Your best bet is probably to search on the website of the career center (CCD). If you really wanted that info and it’s not online, try emailing them.
@GoldOwls So I just got the trustee dist. scholarship but I’m a bit confused about how that would work with outside scholarships. I know that outside scholarships would reduce need-based aid in the package first in ordinary circumstances but would it also reduce merit aid?